Supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi chant pro-Morsi slogans during a rally in the vicinity of Cairo University and Nahdet Misr Square in Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo December 1, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)

Despite massive anti-Morsi, anti-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrations on Tuesday, the Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), say they are determined to "stay the course" in upholding President Mohamed Morsi’s contentious constitutional declaration, and by holding the referendum on the no-less contentious draft constitution as scheduled on 15 December, a leading member of the FJP told Ahram Online.

The leading FJP member also revealed that the group and its Islamist allies are to hold "massive" demonstrations in support of the president in front of the presidential palace in Cairo’s Heliopolis district at 4pm on Wednesday. Later on Wednesday, official Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson Mahmoud Ghozlan made an official statement confirming the decision to demonstrate.

On Tuesday, the presidential palace was besieged by hundreds of thousands of anti-Morsi protesters, some of whom are still holding a sit-in. In turn, several political parties and groups, including the Constitution Party and the National Association for Change, as well as independent activists on Twitter, were calling on people to head to the presidential palace to protect the ongoing sit-in from any potential assault. Shahinda Maqlid, an older, well-known leftist activist, is organising a women's march from Heliopolis Club, in the vicinity of the palace, to the sit-in in order to protect it.

The FJP source shrugged off the possibility of clashes between Morsi’s loyalists and the dozens of protesters who have been holding a sit-in front of the presidential palace since Tuesday night. It was unclear, however, whether the Islamist group did not believe that such clashes might actually take place, or if they were unconcerned that they might. "Let what may happen, happen," the FJP source told Ahram Online.

The source also confirmed that the FJP would take part in pro-Morsi demonstrations on Friday, which had been announced late Tuesday night by Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, following a meeting of Islamist political forces at the Muslim Brotherhood’s headquarters in Cairo’s Muqatam district.

The recently formed opposition coalition group the National Salvation Front, for its part, had called for a new round of demonstrations, both in iconic Tahrir Square and in front of the presidential palace for what they have named "Red Card Friday." The Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies’ choice of the same day for counter-demonstrations seems to further underline the possibility that the group, from which President Morsi hails, is no longer concerned about avoiding potentially bloody clashes between loyalist and opposition protesters, both of whom have proven capable of bringing tens, even hundreds of thousands onto the streets.

Asked about the various compromise formulas offered by the opposition and third parties with a view to staving off just such a potentially destructive confrontation between the two sides, the FJP leading member said emphatically that "there will be no point of return." He went on to charge that "a political conspiracy was being hatched by the leaders of the opposition against the legitimate president of the country."

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W A Rahman

05-12-2012 04:20pm

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The voters have put the Islamists in power and the opposition should respect the majority choice. If they don't like the present goverment they have to wait another five year and vote them out.The opposition forces, although they claim to "cherish democracy," are acting as if they're the ones who triumphed in the elections. Until all Egyptians, win or lose, learn to accept election results, compromise will be impossible, and democracy just a dream.
"Egypt's liberals claim to cherish democracy but not enough to practice it".

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HES

06-12-2012 09:15am

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BS

with all due respect what ur saying is BS if I don't like a government and I voice my dissent and they don't react that's not democracy...there is something in democracy called freedom of speech if you're familiar with it in the first place because it seems to me that you are a bit confused about political definitions...the current president lost his legitimacy the moment he addressed "3asheeratto" and ignored the Egyptian population as a whole, but you my dear ekhwani I bow down to you and your "3asheera" you were able to divide the country into two sides at opposite ends of the spectrum our worst regime (Mubarak) was not able to do it...bravo

Gigi

06-12-2012 08:19am

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Triumphed in the election? 2 million of the people who voted for the Morsi are ignorant and illiterate. They were bribed and cheated by the MB. You have clearly never encountered these thugs! The MB will do ANYTHING in their power to mislead and lie to people. This so-called "election" is nothing but a sham. The anti Morsi protesters are very AWARE of what their plans are. They are low life thugs that discriminate against women and Christians. Morsi has promised many things which he successfully failed at executing.I hope you take the time and rea, analyze and wigh things before you try to look smart

GC2005

06-12-2012 06:40am

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makes no sense

The problem here is that Islamists are going beyond what the voters told them to do. Winning elections does not mean the party can do anything and everything with impunity. It does not mean that it can accumulate all the power and acts above the law. You misunderstand what elections mean.